Guglielmo Vicario opens up on Tottenham injury hell and reveals help from Gianluigi Buffon | OneFootball

Goalkeeper explains the influence of his idol during ‘tough period’ and talks new-found momentum at Spurs

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When Vicario had surgery on a fractured bone in his ankle at the end of November, Spurs were still fifth in a congested Premier League table, four points shy of second-placed Manchester City, who they had just beaten 4-0 in what would prove the goalkeeper's final appearance for more than two months.

Spurs won just one of their next 11 League games and, by the time Vicario was back in the side for the 1-0 win over Manchester United eight days ago, now with two screws in his right foot, Ange Postecoglou's side were all the way down in 15th.

The return of the Italian and a handful of other players over the past fortnight has transformed the feel of the club's season again and Saturday's 4-1 win at Ipswich was their third on the bounce in the top-flight, raising confidence ahead of Wednesday's rematch with City in north London.

Vicario was injured at Manchester City in November

AFP via Getty Images

In the 14 League games with Vicario this season, Spurs have taken 1.78 points per game, which would likely be enough for another top-five finish; in the 12 matches he missed, they managed 0.6 points per game, guaranteed relegation form.

“Of course it’s been a tough period for me, a challenging one that I’ve never faced in my life," Vicario said after the win at Portman Road.

“It’s been a setback that I’ve had to deal with in a proper way, putting in a lot of hard work."

Vicario was helped through the early stages of his rehab by reading a biography of former Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, but found it tough watching Spurs' decline.

“[Buffon] speaks about his life, about his career, on how he overcame his issues,” Vicario said. “So for this period of my life is the perfect book to start reading, [about] my idol.

He added: "It’s been very tough [to watch] because we had to play every three days for two-and-a-half months.

“Also for [the fit players] it’s been a very tough effort. Being sidelined and not being able to help them has been very tough for us.”

Vicario suffered the injury falling innocuously at the Etihad and, remarkably, completed the final hour of the game. It was not until the flight home that Spurs realised he had a potentially serious issue and, within 48 hours, he had travelled to Italy for surgery.

The timing of the blow was particularly frustrating for the 28-year-old and the club, coming after what felt like a landmark win over Pep Guardiola's side, who had not yet lost their aura of invincibility, in which Vicario was outstanding.

His suffered a setback in late December when he was forced to have another minor surgery following a complication with one of his stitches but within six weeks he was back training outdoors, with Postecoglou later revealed he had returned weeks ahead of the club's initial schedule.

“One of the best and one of the worst days of my life,” said Vicario, reflecting on City game. “Then of course when you stay away from the field for three months it’s always tough to get back with the good feelings to go back and replicate what you had been doing for a long time.

Vicario’s return has helped transform the mood at Tottenham

REUTERS

“Now we have to just to keep the momentum going. It’s two wins in a row, three in the Premier League, we’re pleased with that.

“But now how we keep things going is on us. The game against City on Wednesday... will be a big clash. We are looking forward to that. We always want to play against the best teams in the world so for sure it will be a big game for us.”

Vicario has returned to a Spurs side which has a different feel to the one which beat City in late November.

Before last week, he had never previously started a game alongside Djed Spence, who is growing in influence for Postecoglou's side, and only shared a pitch with Lucas Bergvall twice and Archie Gray three times.

Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel joined Spurs in January and have both started the two games since Vicario's return, adding much-needed depth at either end of the pitch.

Vicario leapt on Danso's shoulders as the players celebrated after full-time at Ipswich and he has been impressed by the Austrian and Spence.

“He’s a big lad. He gave us big energy.” Vicario said of Danso. “He had a big impact on the team. He’s a very reliable guy, he works very, very hard. We trust him a lot and you see his presence in the team lifts everyone up, so we are very happy.

“Djed is doing amazingly. He scored, he’s putting in constantly high-level performances. It’s a big moment for him. He has to keep going and do the right stuff.

Vicario added: “Of course it’s easier for everyone to have more options because playing every three days is tough.

“If we have more options it’s easier for everyone. Everyone can have minutes. It’s important for the team, it’s important for the spirit, for the feeling we can have during the week.”

Such was the severity of Spurs' injury crisis, it has been easy to overlook that they are still missing three senior centre-backs, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin, and their two senior centre-forwards, Dominic Solanke and Richarlison.

“We wait for everyone back,” Vicario added. “Now is the time to make things properly. We are looking forward. We don’t [set] too many goals, we just try to look game by game and try to win every game of football we have to face.”